


Hello Again

by queenrinacat



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M, ahhhh i love them so much, before i became obsessed with swan queen mattex was my life, have an old drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 07:47:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1297051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenrinacat/pseuds/queenrinacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex bumps into Matt outside of a tea shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hello Again

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another work I'm tempted to make longer, but....ah I don't know.

On a cold winter afternoon, Alex Kingston walked out of Barnes and Nobles, purchases slung under her arm, onto the busy intersection of 82nd and Amsterdam. The bustle and noise of New York City whirled around her, bombarding her with the flashes of changing light signals and the honking of frantic cars.  
Initially deciding to wander around the neighborhood, she was forced to change her mind after five minutes in air cold enough for her breath to plume out in front of her. The tip of her nose was surely red by now, and her cheeks and hands had grown numb. Alex stopped in front of a quaint shop that read “Teavana” in wooden lettering. She was about to step inside when—  
“Kingston!”  
And suddenly she was being picked up and whirled around, face pressed into leather that smelled like toffee and mint candies.  
“Matt?”  
“The one and only.”  
Alex couldn’t hold back the smile that spread on her face. “How are you?”  
“Brilliant! You?”  
“I’ve been getting by.” _And here we stop, Alex. No need to bore him with stories of your pathetic social life and lack of work because you’re too old._  
Alex looked him up and down. The boyish haircut was shorter now, and the leather jacket he wore was snug around a well-muscled torso and arms. He looked older, but in a good way. His face seemed more defined too, more mature. He looked like a man. Changing the subject, she asked  
“You look good. Been working out?”  
Matt stood up straighter.  
“A bit.”  
“What’re you doing in New York?”  
“Here for a job, actually.”  
“Me too. But let’s go inside, shall we?” she suggested. “I’m afraid I’m about to turn into an icicle.”  
Matt grinned, proffering an arm.  
“Shall we?”  
And taking it, she said “We shall.”  
Once past the doorway of Teavana, the pair were hit with a blast of warm air. Alex sighed with relief and stripped off her gloves as Matt divested himself of his jacket.  
“Oh my goodness that is so much better.”  
Alex still near the doorway, Matt stood in the center of the shop, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He whirled around, clapped his hands together, and said  
“Hah! Right then. Tea for the lovely lady.”  
Alex rolled her eyes. “Honestly, are you five?”  
“Only for you, m’dear.”  
As they walked around the tea shop, Alex felt lighter than she had in weeks, browsing the shelves of herbs and spices with Matt. She was surprised by how easily and quickly conversation flew, and how natural it all felt. _But then, it always had been easy between the two of us, hadn’t it?_ It was then she noticed Matt had stilled, eyes staring somewhere just past her face.  
"Matt? Matt, darling, are you all right?"  
His eyes snapped up to hers, losing that dazed look she'd noticed a moment before.  
"Yeah, course." He grinned.  
"Sorry, I was a million miles away." She quirked a brow.  
"I could see that." Matt rubbed the back of his neck.  
"Erm..." Alex giggled, laying a hand on his arm.  
"Relax, darling, I don't bite."  
"And if I'm into that?" Shoving him away, Alex scolded  
"Oy! Cheeky sod." Matt smiled, broad and genuine.  
"Ah, Kingston, I have missed you."

xxxxxxxXXXxxxxxxx

Alex glanced at the clock on the wall. It’s been an hour already? Strange, but… Oh no.  
“Oh my god I’m going to be late! I’ve a meeting with my agent shoot I’m sorry gotta bail it was lovely to see you but I must run—”  
Matt laid a hand on her arm.  
“Alex, love. Breathe. There’s a bus stop a couple blocks from here. It’ll come in five minutes, max, and if you think you’ll still be late I’ll call a cab, yeah?”  
She smiled sheepishly.  
“Sorry, I’m a worrier.”  
“Shhh. Don’t, then.”  
Arm in arm, they strolled out of the tea shop, shielding their eyes against the pale glare of the winter sky. A couple of blocks and five minutes later, as Matt had predicted, a bus did indeed arrive. Bidding him farewell, she hugged him again.  
“Don’t be such a stranger. You know, there’s this thing called phones…”  
Matt looked oddly at her for a moment, then smiled.  
“Yeah. You know, I really will.”  
“Goodbye then darling. See you around.”  
“See you.”  
Alex climbed onto the bus and paid her fare, one of the last on. The bus groaned, coughed, and finally rumbled forward. Dropping onto a seat, Alex scooted over to the window and smiled, watching Matt wave at her from the receding sidewalk. What an odd coincidence, she thought, meeting Matt again in New York of all places.  
As the bus turned a corner, and he vanished from view, there was an odd tightness in her chest, a familiar pain. A drawer labeled Matt Smith rattled, one she’d locked tightly long ago. _It does no good to dwell on the past, or what ifs, for that matter,_ she told herself sternly. Still, it was hard not to wish, and once… _Never you mind, Alex. Stop that._ All the same, it really had been lovely to see him. If only… _Stop._


End file.
